So remember my last post...and when the whole world wide interweb got their panties wadded up at Mike Sinyard?

I guess I will never ever understand why we always let SRAM and AVID off the hook. They have been fucking more people and more shop owners over for years. Make no mistake about it, the big sue happy S is also to blame. They are the bastards that spec that shit lock stock and barrel. ( I know nothing of what Trek specs because their bikes are all piss poor copies of someone else's work anyway.)

Here's a bit of my personal history with the SRAM/AVID crap.

Waaaaay back in the day I was a huge Avid fan boy. Sram also. First modern bike was Gripshift and Avid V brake equipped. My bikes prior to this were re fabs. I was a retro grouch due to my socio economic state. I ran what I fixed up from the piles. But when I threw down real money I got a Specialized. Even back in the day them bastards were conspiring against us. But back then, SrAvid had something to prove. Their shit actually worked and was reliable. ( unless you gorilla fisted the cable replacement and broke a bunch of plastic shit.) They were playing to win and knock Shimano off the block.

2000/2001. XO. Sram was launching their first big silo at Shimano. I was first in line. I got that big ass Tin full of my XO rear mech. I got me a ticket to win at the NORBA Nationals. Free "VIP" schwag handed out by none other than Mr. Cut the Course in '90. All them bitches were jealous....I really was fully into that Sram twisty shit. Every single wrench and person I knew made fun of me. But hey it worked and I was really damn close to a fully non Shimano bike. Which was my goal, to have zero Shimano on my ride.

As time went on I moved my thought patterns to what I was paid to sell. I was paid to sell whatever corporate partnership product we spec'd on our bikes. If our trailer had Kenda on it, then by god those were the best rubbers you could ride. Fox forks...pure squishy gold. Anything we partnered up with was the company line and therefore my line. Oddly, it was always Shimano. I rode it. I liked it. I was being won over.

Then I pulled a few years back wrenching in retail. Oh Holy Hell how times changed. The Sram stuff I once loved acted like the girl who just caught you banging her sister. It was a hot mess. It howled, actually gobbled like a turkey popping a cherry. It vibrated better than any Steely Dan on the market, you really could not control it once it started. And then it stopped stopping. It also stopped shifting just about the same time it wanted you to Make the Leap.

Leap? Hell it couldn't even nudge. The first years of Sram Red front derailleurs alone should have brought that company down in a hell storm of customer complaints. But like most sheep we kept following. It seriously performed so bad we thought it was the new normal. Then myself or some three hundred other mechanics decided that even a Sora would work better. And that became the best way to fix Red front shifting. XX1...shit any wrench can tell you they came up with 1X11 so they wouldn't have to TRY and make another front derailleur.

Sheeple. Sram counts on it. And most of you thick skulled minions keep walking right off the cliff. Don't even get me started on Rock Shox. They were only better than Manitou. After stuffing stanchions with foam who the fuck thought plastic cartridges were a good idea? I had a Judy DH that leaked like it was a full time job. It was. Rock Shox just finally sent me four cartridges so I could have them in steady rotation and save them shipping charges. Oh and Fuck Reba. Shut up, you brought her home so you get to bang her.

You pretty much feel that way every time you buy, fix, or ride that shit nowadays. Maybe just maybe your batch is the good one. Maybe. But its all your dollars and all your loss when your ride is in my shop getting bled for the 90th time before a recall...

Shop owners. WOW are you getting fucked. No lube. No reach around. Just a pile of shitty free chains (waiting to be recalled...), free cassettes ( also awaiting their recall), and a few free bottles of DOT. You pay me how much? And your margin was? so factor that into the free man hours you are giving away and you just got raped. But no outrage at all....just sheeple along.

Fanboys and girls are the greatest.

"Ever ridden a Shimano brake at 0 degs , they don't work either ....""have Sram brakes on all of my bike ( bunch) , I've found if I flush the brakes and be fairly anal when setting up , they work perfect.... ""because Shimano has never had a recall... Um, yeah... SRAM/Avid breaks have gone downhill, but I know plenty of people who had Elixirs and never had an issue, myself included. ""SRAM drivetrain components work great."from my favorite ass clown:"poor baby...u have to work...wtf r u always complaining....they credit ur service hours anyway...stop hating on everything u have trouble working on...send them to my shop and ill do them...god forbid u have to bleed some brakes....""Actually, I like my elixers. It helps to know how to bleed them and have a little patience adjusting the calipers."more from my favorite ass clown:"I dont get it...?....bleed them right away when open em folks....bleed them right...they all work fine...iv done thousands....u know when they fill them it comes from a giant drum thats absorbed water...?...maybe try stu class....not rocket science"
One thing that they all have in common, they all really know how to bleed brakes. BECAUSE they have to do it all the damn time. My favorite is the clown who can't even use english. He was so adamant about Sram crediting you for labor. Brooooooo, a damn chain ain't cutting it in my shop. We do real work and get paid a fair wage for our professional work. Son. I cost money. My owners value me and my co workers. So yea, a chain isn't really covering it.

Dear Sram, Test your shit. Like in a lab or something. We the consumer and end user actually have to PAY to use your crap. Assuming its actually going to work. Please stop using me as a lab rat AND taking my money. If you want me to test your product for you....PAY ME or give it to me for free. Yours truly,Every consumer since 2002.

What on earth did we do before shocks and discs? Good Lord.What I did then is what I do now: scavenge like mad and ride retro-heaps.Fat tires, cantis, friction. I predict that eventually, even cheap steel mountain bikes will become overpriced collectibles as more younger riders discover just how hard they've been to by the bike industry and revolt by resorting to riding whatever doesn't require the latest doo-dads. [Bleep] you, SRAM.

Our customers love the SRAM stuff, and I am partial to their MTB as I have the same original XO drivetrain you spoke of. But even though I'm not a fan of the Shimano feel, their stuff rarely has me calling their tech dept. Most of the SRAM warrenty calls have been for older things, and I have always been honest with them and they have treated us really well. I don't know how much free replacement stuff they gave us (a shit ton), when 95% of the time they are well within their right to give us even a price break. Shimano does not treat us that well, but not poorly either. I have die hard Shimano and Campy riders who have SRAM on their CX bikes and love it. Their FDs are a PITA to tune, but I get them there.

There is a difference between a company who has been litigation happy and outside the realm of reasonable on one hand and trying to tell you they are all about tech and the love of cycling on the other. It makes the rumors/hate mongering about them really just being a marketing company seem true, and gives them the aura of being a dishonest big business just out for nothing more than the almighty dollar. I missed out on SRAMs poor quality and reliability era. I heard about it, but never experienced it. The stuff I have been working on the past 2.5 years has been good, the regulars like it, and are less impressed with Shimano's offerings, accept their brakes. That's all I can say. I did have to flush several Avid Elixar 1s this summer due to what I believe was water absorption. But that is a DOT fluid thing as much as anything. I try to steer customers to mineral oil based systems such as Shimano, Tektro, or Magura.

Sadly, my boss does not think of my abilities as highly as a single free chain. Depending on the chain, one could cover as much as 2-3 hours of my pay. A cassette would almost be a whole days pay for a midgrade one. And that's at wholesale. I also don't think that is uncommon at all in most shops through out the country. I am certainly glad for you that a few chains and cassettes don't cover your value, but I don't think that is the case for most of us.